He's of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger.... he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts. ~William Shakespeare, Henry V

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

AVIAN INFLUENZA

I just don't get it.

I was watching the news tonight and in Indonesia 7 family members died from the avian influenza in three weeks but government officials refuse testing on all types of birds for the H5N1 virus. Excuse me?! If I lived in close proximity to any kind of poultry or bird and my family was getting sick I would definitely want to know if it was the chicken, turkey, or pigeon making them ill.

I think it's just stupid that they can grab one bird out of a whole flock to see if the flock is sick.

Maybe I am just irritated about hearing of the H5N1 virus or just ticked that countries won't to more testing so that America can prepare itself as the rest of the countries fight it but wouldn't you want to try and do more about it if you could?
Thank you goes out to Dougie for wishing me luck with my classes because it worked.

I started getting into my Medical Terminology book yesterday and realized that it only looked scarier than it actually is. To be truthful, right now it's pretty darn easy. All the prefixes, suffixes, roots, and combining vowels aren't nearly as bad as I thought they were going to be. You just have to remember that with medical terms you need to read them backwards to get the definition.

My English is still great. I haven't taken that quiz though that needs to be done by Saturday. I have been working hard to catch up on my Med Term that I have kind of put it off but tonight after the girls go to bed I am going to study up and then take my quiz.

Today has been yucky. The rest of the week is supposed to be hot so I will probably be over at my parents the rest of the week. I do have a window air conditioner that only keeps one room cool so it's easier for me to go to my parents where the whole house is cool because they have central air.

I better get off this darn thing and watch my news, then Bones, and then America will know who there new Idol is (it better be Taylor Hicks)....I can't wait!!!!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

A STUDENTS WORK IS NEVER DONE

Yesterday my classes for my Medical Transcription degree started.

So far in English for Careers is going good. I have finished my first chapter, done all the homework assignments and now I have to take a quiz by Saturday. This first chapter was very easy so I am not concerned about this class at the moment. However, I wish I could say the same for my Medical Terminology class.

In Medical Terminology, the class is already finished with chapter 4 and there have been numerous questions posted on the discussion board. So I need to crack down, read the 4 chapters and then go back and finish the questions on the discussion board. I really don't like taking my assignments (and then posting my answers) on the discussion board but there isn't much I can do about it. The fact that we are only two days into the class and I am 4 chapters behind bother me. It means that this is going to be a very fast moving class and I need to stay on top of it or I am really going to be in trouble when test time comes.

It's hot .... REALLY HOT today so I am going to take the girls over to my mom's place so she can kind of watch them for me while I do my English quiz and then read and hopefully catch up with the rest of the MT class.

WHAT A TRIP

Our trip to see my sister in MN was pretty good.

Wednesday the girls and I spent the night at my mom's. On Thursday we left shortly after my mom got home from work which was about 4 o'clock. We reached Fargo at about 7:30 and we ran by a McDonald's to get something to eat and then we went over to my aunt's house so that we could eat our McD's and feed Jessie. Jessie did wonderful on the car ride. She didn't make a sound until we got into Fargo and then she started talking a little bit because she was getting hungry. Cassie had my other aunts portable DVD player and was watching Pinochhio until we got our food.

We didn't stay long in Fargo, only about an hour, and then we took off again. We reached the cities around 11:30 and got to my sisters place at midnight. We just got the stuff that we needed for the night out of the car and then went to bed.

Friday we went to the Mall of America and my mom bought Cassie and unlimited ride pass wristband (chaperones rode for free) and we rode rides from noon until about 2:30 then hit the food court for a bite to eat and then we left the mall to get our hair cut at The Chair. I love my hair cut, it's short but really layered and looks wonderful. Cassie sat really good for her hair cut and it looks just adorable. My mom got her hair cut and colored and it looks really good too. The guy who cut our hair was a really nice guy and I liked him a lot. I now know why my sister spends the money to go there. Cassie wanted to go back to the mall and ride more rides and because she did so well for her hair cut (and we didn't have anything else planned) we went back to the mall around 5 and we all got tired of little kids rides so we left at about 9:30. I am sure Cassie rode at least 27 different times on about 6 rides. Her favorite ride was the Camp Bus which goes up in the air and spins around similar to a ferris wheel only faster. My sister counted it out and my mom rode it 9 times with Cassie, Lynnette rode it 3 times with her, and I stopped counting myself after our 9th trip around but I know I rode it a lot more than that with her. She was riding it so often that after a while the girl running the ride us let sit in the ride so we weren't running around the ride to scan her wristband for every ride.

On Saturday we did our shopping. I bought a new purse and a moose rug for my kitchen floor, my mom got some new windchimes, some scrubs, and a new pair of shoes for work, and Lynnette bought the girls each an outfit for Sunday church and she also bought Cassie these really cool little pink Nike sandals that look like Tevas.

On Sunday we went to 10:30 mass at the church my sister goes to. It's a super nice church and the music there is really good. After mass we had lunch at a Perkins restaurant in Minnetonka and then mom, I, and the girls left for home.

We stopped at my aunt's in Fargo around 6 o'clock so that we could all eat and then we headed out. We had a quick stop in Grand Forks because we were getting thirsty and for some reason Jessie got hungry again so I had to jump in the back seat with her. We were going to stop by April and Kevin's new place but because the day was getting late we skipped it (sorry guys, I really wanted to come over). We got home around 10:30 and I was happy to be home.

We took a lot of pictures of Cassie in the park in MOA and as soon as I get the copies from my sister I will post them. There are also some really good pics of us getting our hair cut too which I may post as well so be on the look out for them coming soon.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

GETTING READY TO LEAVE

It's a little after 2 pm and the girls and I are at my mom's and we have most of our things together so that when my mom gets home, which hopefully will be soon, we will be ready to take off for Minneapolis after she changes clothes.

I am excited and nervous. I hope the girls do well in the car. We plan on stopping in Fargo at my aunts place so that I can nurse Jessie and after Fargo we should be able to make it all the way to my sisters place before I have to nurse Jessie again. I probably won't be until 10 or later that we get there.

My mom and I were thinking of swinging in and seeing April and Kevin on Sunday on our way back home. We can check out their new digs, they can see the girls, and I may even be able to nurse Jessie.....and maybe we could even catch a late lunch or early supper somewhere with them too. I need to call them first though and see what their weekend plans are.

I will try and post from my sisters place in Minneapolis and let everyone know what we are up to.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

SWEET

Either someone got inside my blog and fixed the side bar or the blog fixed itself. Whichever, I am just glad it's fixed.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

NOT AGAIN

Just my luck!

I get up this morning and I am sweating beyond belief, I am shaking so much that I am scared to pick up Jessie because I am afraid that I may drop her, I have a headache so bad that it almost makes me shout out in pain, and I feel foggy and dissy. I am throwing up and I have stomach cramps.

I call my mom, I really don't know why because it's not like she can help me when she it at work but there isn't anyone around here. My mom gets a hold of Mary Anne to see if she could get me in to see the doctor or have them call me. I am so bummed out because I think I may be too sick to go to Minneapolis. There is no way I can make the trip this sick.

While I am waiting for the phone call I am trying to take care of the girls as best as I can but it's difficult and I wished to hell that I had someone to call and help me with them while I am so sick. I sit down to nurse Jessie and we just get started and I have to throw up and I know I am not going to make it to the bathroom with Jessie on my lap. The only thing close enough was Cassie's Playdough bucket so I grabbed it with my foot really fast and dumped everything out of it to use until Jessie was done nursing. I couldn't stop throwing up and visions of Kevin's middle of the night story kept coming back to me and making me more sick.

Poor Cassie was all confused. She kept asking me if I was okay and if I was going to be alright. She was looking at me funny while I had her bucket and the only thing she could repeat was "are you puking mommy". All I had time to say to her was that I was really sick.

Jessie finally gets done nursing so I lay her on my bed and I dashed to the bathroom to sit. I don't know how long I was there because I fell asleep resting against the counter right next to the toilet I would guess I was there for at least a half hour or better by the mark on my arm. I collected myself quickly and checked on the kids. Cassie was playing with the cat in my closet and Jessie was still smiling and cooing on the bed.

I get a phone call from the doctor's nurse. He wants me to stop taking the antibiotic from Friday for a few days and see if I feel better because that may be making me sick and also tells me that there is a flu bug going around so it may also be that.

I put Jessie in her swing and she quickly falls asleep and Cassie and I jumped up on the couch together and watch TV. Cassie passed out shortly and I crashed after her. We all started to wake up around 4 o'clock and I feel better. Everything has seemed to leave except for the headache to I take tylenol.

My mom calls to check on me. We had plans to go to Minot to get my aunts portable DVD player for the drive to Minneapolis to help occupy the girls a little bit. I told her that I was feeling a lot better and I think I am up for the trip and both girls had their naps and I was just getting ready to nurse Jessie again so we would be ready to leave when she got home.

My headache was almost gone by the time mom came over. We stopped at Cenex in Rugby so I could get something for myself and Cassie to drink. We stopped at a McDonalds in Minot and got food to go and got to my aunts place. We waited a little bit for them because they were gone but that wasn't a problem cause we ate our food while we watched American Idol and I was able to feed Jessie another time too.

By time we left Minot I felt about 97% healthy except a faint fuzzy feeling and I have a cough.

Not it's really late and both girls are in bed and I feel a lot better. It must have been a 12 hour bug or something but whatever it was I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy especially if they have kids.

TAKING A LITTLE TRIP

I am starting on cleaning the house really well. I am catching up on all my laundry and making sure all the old food is out of the fridge and the garbage's are clean because on Thursday the girls and I are leaving with my mom and we are heading to Minneapolis to stay with my sister until Sunday.

I can't wait. It's going to be a lot of fun. We are going to visit an indoor park, then check out the children's museum, and we are going to spend some time in the Mall Of America and we are going to buy passes so that Cassie can ride the rides at Camp Snoopy inside of MOA. We are going to try and not to eat out too much since that is normally where most of the money goes. Hopefully I will have some money to buy the girls a thing or two while we are there. And Cassie, mom, and I are going to have our hair done at this fancy hair place called The Chair which I am really looking forward to.

The girls and I are going to spend the night at my mom's place on Wednesday so that we are there, packed, and ready to go when she gets home for work so all that mom has to do is change and grab her things and then we will be on our way. We are going to take our car since it will save money on gas. We plan on stopping at my aunts place in Fargo, which is almost half way there, so that we can stop and feed the girls and then get back on the road and hopefully things will be well until we reach the cities.

Just a girls weekend....I am soooooo excited.

DOCTOR, JESSIE, AND PIGS

It was almost a waist of time going to the doctor. They checked the hole and said that they didn't see any infection below it so they put me on an antibiotic and then told me just to use a topical ointment over the hole and if that doesn't work and it opens again to come back to the clinic. I have used the topical ointment each time it's opened up so I am sure I will be going back next month.

I go a hold of the district health office about Jessie's reaction to her shots. They checked the records and said that there wasn't any preservatives or anything that would have made her break out like that so they said that it was probably an allergic reaction to the alcohol wipes that they used to rub both her legs with. And I actually do believe that she has an allergy to alcohol because the other day after her bath I rubbed Johnson&Johnson baby lotion (the pink stuff) on her and about ten minutes after that she started to cry and she didn't stop crying until about 11 o'clock. For the heck of it, I checked the back of the bottle, and sure enough, there is Centyl Alcohol in it. So now I am going to have to check all the products that come into contact with Jessie and make sure there isn't alcohol in them or she is going to do that every time. Her charts at the doctors office and at district health have been flagged so they will prep her with only soap and water when they need to. I hope that it goes away after time because when she gets older I don't think there is an acne medication out there that doesn't have some sort of alcohol it it and we will have to watch perfumes and cosmetics too I'm sure.

Sunday evening we took a trip south of York to visit a farmer that has pigs so that Cassie could see them. She was talking all day about petting some pigs and around noon I remembered that I couple that goes to our church raises pigs. I gave them a call and they were more than happy to have Cassie come out and see them. Cassie had a lot of fun, she even got to see a mommy pig with 11 piglets.....and the runt was super cute!

Monday, May 15, 2006


Jessie sucking on daddy's finger. Posted by Picasa

Jessie close up. Posted by Picasa

Friday, May 12, 2006

I'M SICK AND MY INCISION ISN'T HEALING

I see the doctor today at 4:15.

I have been feeling pretty crappy lately. I got a sore throat the other day and then I got body aches. Last night I got a fever and I was just freezing, in the middle of the night I got really hot. This morning I had a headache and I still have it. I also noticed that part of my c-section incision had opened up again. I keeps opening at my waist line and it's almost a perfectly round circle and will get to be about the size of a dime. It will be open for a week and then close. This has got to be about the 4th time it's opened and I am getting sick of it. I don't know if they can do much about it but I am tired of it happening. At least Jessie slept from 9:30 pm to 7 am so I didn't have to worry about her during the night.

Cassie had a runny nose earlier this week but she is over it now and Jessie's nose just started to run a little bit but other than that they aren't sick. I glad it's just runny noses and not coughing.

I am hoping that my mom can come here and watch the girls while I run into town because I don't feel like packing them up and going anywhere. I would just like to stay home.

I was checking out my books that I got from the college. It's hard to believe that I just spent 280.00 of my financial aid for three books. The first book is a really easy English for Business book that looks a lot like an 8th grade english text book, easy as pie. The second book is a huge medical dictionary that is over 2000 pages and weighs about as much as Cassie does. The third book is my medical language and medical terminology CD's and that is pretty scary. I think I could only read 1/4 of it correctly so I am concerned about the class.

I have started scrapbook pages for Jessie but I haven't bought an album yet. I need to check out the Creative Memories website to see what album cover colors they have and then check ebay to see if I can get it cheaper. I also need to get some stickers too so I may have to contact my Creative Memories rep but I don't like to because she isn't a very good rep and she tries to get me to buy every sticker package that she has and I hate that.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

A BIT SPOOKY

My house is still some what of a wreck. Actually it looks like a bomb exploded in the house and I really needed to start cleaning, as stated in my previous post, so I went around and started collecting the dirty dishes and then I started in on picked up the toys and game pieces from the floor. I got to the door way where the two boxes from our neighbors was sitting and I was collecting a bunch of little red paper dots for a bingo game when I noticed that there was an extra box.

The third box was not there last night when we came home or Cassie and I would have fallen over it coming through the door and it wasn't there this morning when I went out to get the mail cause I would have had to step over it to get out of the house.

I just stared at it for 20 seconds before I checked out the shipping label to figure out where the heck it came from. Here the box had been sent from the Williston State College bookstore and they were all the books and disks that I needed for my classes that start in 11 days and the box was delivered by UPS.

Weird thing I that for the most part, I have been in the living room all day with the occasional trip to the bathroom. I didn't hear the door open or close and I didn't hear the UPS guy holler "UPS MAN!" like he normally does when he opens the door. I live in a 16 x 80 mobile home so I really should have heard him....I should have heard the truck even, but I didn't.

It just makes me think that if I can't hear someone like the UPS man who obviously makes noise when coming to the house, how am I going to hear anyone else. Some deranged psychotic killer or drifter could walk right into my home and I might not know it. I can put myself and my girls in danger by being so distracted with them and the house work. I don't want us to be murdered by some freak or have some goon take of with the girls.

It's really a bit spooky if you ask me. What can I do to keep us a bit more safe?

On the plus side, I got my books which I was starting to wonder about. I was reading a note that was sent along with them and I am short one book because they didn't have them at the bookstore yet but they will send it when they get. In the same note it says that the books that are shrink wrapped can not be returned once they are open.....yeah, all of my books are shrink wrapped except for the Medical Termiology I disks that go with the books. Bastards.

MY CHILDHOOD STUFFY

Upon the request of Mr Toast's blog I am now going to reveal my childhood stuffy. Most of you are thinking that it's some stuffed horse right? Well, if that's what you are thinking...you are wrong. SUPRISE!! It's actually a gray elephant that was given to me by my parents after they took a trip (I believe it was Bismarck but I'm not 100% sure) and couldn't take us children along.



They brought back a moose, a squirrel, and the elephant. The stuffies were in brown paper sacks so it was hard to tell what they were. I remember seeing the grey nose sticking out of the top of the bag and since that was the one I could see, that's the one I grabbed. My sister got the moose and my brother got the squirrel. I don't know if the elephant was meant for me or not but I instantly fell in love with him. I used to decorate him with my western bandanas and he went every where with me.

When Cassie was born I almost gave it to her and for a week I did go around the house saying that it was Cassie's elephant now but after a few weeks I took him back. There were too many memories to just give him up....even to my daughter. Sounds selfish I know, but like K-P-P to Mr Toast, this elephant is my only link to my very young childhood that is still mine.

RAMBLING

I need to get the house cleaned up a little bit. Cassie got into the box of toys from our neighbors and Cassie has toys and game pieces all over the house now.

Jessie's sleeping schedule is getting a lot better. She is asleep by 9:30 in the evening now and she usually wakes up around 2 to eat and then will sleep until 8 or later in the morning. It's so wonderful to have both girls in bed by 9:30 now. It give me a little "me time" before I go to bed and I can watch the news in peace.

Cassie likes to get outside every day to play on her swing set. Yesterday was too cold and rainy to play so we may have to get outside later today if it's not too cold.

Darren got the laptop he got from his uncle working and it runs wonderful now. Darren is going to let me use it for my college work that way I can take it to my mom's and use her DSL while she watches the kiddies. I can also work on my homework when we are away too which is going to be nice.

I have to send a CONGRATS out to Tigre. Tomorrow he goes to the US District Court to become a citizen for service in the armed forces. Woo-Hoo for him!!! Oh and to Doug, Karissa, and Josie...Tigre is a SYS fan.

Getting ready to head down the slide. Posted by Picasa

Pure bliss while she's swinging. Posted by Picasa

Here's Cassie eating lunch on her new picnic table. She DEMANDED to have lunch outside. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

DEFINITELY NOT FUN

Jessie's doctor appointment went well. She has a moderate reflux and the mylanta should be enough to take care of it and she will out grow it eventually.

Jessie had shots at Lake Region District Health afterwards. She got 4 of them, two in each leg. She cried for just a little bit and then one of the ladies was nice enough to let us use her office to nurse because it was also time for Jessie to eat. Jessie fell asleep at the health office and stayed sleeping until we got to my mom's. Then she screamed and cried and screamed and cried only stopping to nurse a little bit. She fell asleep once but as soon as my mom moved Jessie she woke up because her poor little tender legs. I had even given her tylenol an hour before her shots and was continuing to give them to her every 3 hours afterwards but that wasn't working at all.

We got home around 9 and I got Cassie into bed right away and I tried to calm Jessie. When I changed her from her day outfit to a sleeper she seemed to cry harder. I decided to take off the sleeper because I thought maybe the sleeper was pulling against her legs making her uncomfortable. It worked, she went from a cry down to a sniffling sob. She nursed at 10 and she was sleeping by 11.

Cassie woke up and joined us in the bedroom at 2 am. Cassie was tired and whinny and she had me go get her nuk, blanket, and juice cup before she stopped whining. I did it right away to make sure she wouldn't wake up Jessie. Well, Jessie woke up anyway to be fed, Cassie fell asleep while I was feeding Jessie. I laid back down at 3:30 on the edge of my side of the bed because Cassie had the rest of the bed and as soon as I was just about asleep Cassie rolled over. She had her juice cup in her hand when she rolled over and juice ran down along my back and pooled by my butt. Then Cassie scooted closer to me and was half way up my back so I sat up to move Cassie over then she got mad at me and socked me in the eye with her fist. That was the final straw of the night. I picked her up and moved her to her bedroom. She cried and cried and cried and was awake until about 5:30 but finally fell asleep. However she came back into the bedroom around 6 but she didn't say anything, she just jumped into my bed and fell right back asleep so I left her there.

Cassie was up for the day around 8 and Jessie didn't get up until about 11. When I took off Jessie's pants to change her diaper both legs from the waist to the knee were covered in tiny little round black and blue marks, so many there was too many to count. I called my mom and she said that Jessie might have had a reaction to her shots so now I have to check with the health office and find out what happened. I hope she doesn't have any allergies to the band-aids (latex or adhesives) or alcohol. It explains why Jessie was so darn uncomfortable and crabby.

So today I am really tired. I may go to my mom's, crash for a bit, watch Idol and then come home. I am just praying that tonight is better than last night. After typing all of this up I got to thinking that it shouldn't be Mother's Day, we should get an entire month!!

JACK'S PARTY GIRL

I have often thought about the day that Luna will die. She is so much a part of my life even though I may not ride her as much as I used to or as much as I would like now. I know a lot of who I am is going to die with her. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have become the huge hippie horse lover that I am today. My curiosity about the real wild west and how cowboys really lived was stirred up because of my passion for horses and in my opinion horses are still what keeps the west alive today.

I know I want to own horses for a while but I didn't know if I wanted another horse like her after she is gone. It would remind me too much about her and I would unfairly compare the two if they resembled each other.

A while back I was checking out all the breeds of horses and the sizes and colors that they range in and I decided that I want a paint. Not just any paint though. I want the really flashy and really expensive overo paint and she...yes I said she...needs to be a bay overo paint. Solid black legs, mane, and tail are a must. A nice white bold face is optional but would be wonderful and the white and brown color on the body has to be perfect with each other. Not too much white and not too much brown.

Bay overo's are not found easily and when you do they are normally very expensive and most of the time they are really ugly because there is way too much white.

I was checking online the other night when I had some down time and I found my Perfect Horse. Her name is Jack's Party Girl and suprisingly she is for sale on a ranch in Carrington ND. She is my replacement for Luna. I absolutely got to have her and she is the best bay overo that I have seen yet. I want this horse so bad that it actually hurts and I want to cry each time I look at her picture. I know this sounds really silly that I am actually crying over a horse but it's a deep passionate love that I have for the equines that isn't speakable and I think the fact that I actually found the horse that I have imagined for years for sale here in ND has something to do with it too.

Okay, I am not really expecting my parents or husband to buy her for me, though it's a really nice thought and would be a wonderful Mother's Day gift .......I am joking......or am I?

Here is Jack's Party Girl from Draggin' Ass Ranch in Carrington ND. Posted by Picasa

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HOLY CRAP

The neighbors who gave us the swing set called me again yesterday and told me they also had a Little Tykes picnic table if we wanted along with a plastic three wheel trike and some little kids games.

I called my dad to see if I could use one of his trucks to go get the stuff after I got back from Devils Lake with Jessie and he said that was fine so I called the neighbors back and told them I would be by in the evening to get the stuff and they said they would just set the stuff out in front of their house in case they were not home when we stopped.

When my dad, Cassie, and I got there not only did we find the picnic table and trike, but there was also a red/white radio flyer trike, a skate board, a bigger kids bike, a Little Tykes dolphin with handles and wheels, a turtle on wheels, two lawn chairs, a plastic red snow sled, a huge plastic bat with baseball (the animals are going to LOVE that), a box that had two bike helmets and an assortment of boots, and a second box with a bunch of toys and board games.

WOW! I thanked them for all the stuff and asked them if they were sure they didn't want anything. They said nope cause they were just going to take all of it to the Boys Ranch anyway if we didn't take it. We have some super nice neighbors.

Here is a pic of Cassie among the pile of stuff that the neighbors gave us. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, May 07, 2006

DOCTOR AND SHOTS

Tomorrow Jessie has a doctors appointment and we will get the full review of her barium swallow. It's strange, but since the swallow we haven't really had any problems with Jessie except for the standard baby spit-up.

After the doctor appointment Jessie get her 4 months shots...yuck. I remember last time she got shots. All she did that night was cry. I couldn't put her down and she slept in my arms until 5 in the morning. I didn't get much for sleep that night. Hopefully this time around will be better.

I have cleaned my house, now all I have is laundry and it's all clean. My Medical Transcription courses start on the 22nd and I want the house in order, with the exception of the back room, by the time they start so I can stay on top of things and keep them tidy.

I am trying to change the background on my blog and work on a fancy heading but they aren't turning out and I think I seriously messed up my blog...grrrrrrrr. If anyone can help, please do.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

This site is under construction. I will be continuing to post but please bear with the mess for a bit.

The Wild West Show Administrator

Saturday, May 06, 2006

A LITTLE POST

Jessie's barium swallow went well. We got to the hospital early and we didn't have to wait really long. Jessie was just happy as could be and she was smiling at all the nurses and she even took 2 ounces of the barium which suprised me. The radiologist didn't see anything really bad. There was some reflux but all babies have reflux to some degree. We see Jessie's pediatrician on Monday so we will know for sure then.

If your child ever has to have a barium swallow done, let it be known that when they pass the barium it will be white. The first diaper that I changed after the swallow looked like she had pooped Cool Whip. No joke. I was very close to taking a picture of it just for verification for those "non believers" out there but I decided not too.

Jessie has started to sleep longer too. She goes to bed around 10 and will get up around 4:30 for a feeding and then will fall back a sleep until around 10 am. I get about 6 to 7 hours of sleep now a night which has been very wonderful. When Jessie starts sleeping through the night we will put both girls in their new bedroom.

Cassie is doing good. We are finished with medicine and she has been able to go out and play on her new swing set once. I would like to get her outside more but it's hard with Jessie and especially when we don't have a fenced in yard and I definately don't trust the road with all the tractors and semis going up and down them now as farmers are moving crops into the elevator and getting ready to plant. It's wonderful weather this weekend so I am hoping to also get some riding in if it's possible.

Jessie just chillin' on the couch with her horsey "Trotter". I think he looks a little like Homer Simpson. Posted by Picasa

Jessie has taken to chewing on the ear of the horse since her tooth started coming in. It's weird when she chews on it because the ears are crinkly and it sounds like a burning fire. Posted by Picasa

Here is Cassie in Mom's sweatshirt. Cassie thought it was a dress and she was running around Nana's saying "I'm a princess, I'm a princess!" Posted by Picasa

She is such a pretty little princess. Posted by Picasa

Here is the girls new swing set which we got from our neighbors who live across the railroad tracks from us. It's still in really super nice condition and I think they are going to have a lot of fun with it.  Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

WELL, HERE WE GO

In about 10 hours I have to take Cassie to day care and then run Jessie into Devils Lake to have her barium swallow done and I am going to be a nervous wreck.

I called Mary Anne and she is going to come down to the x-ray department of the hospital and wait with me while everything is being done. I just hope I can contain myself when they take Jessie from me.

To top things off, I think Jessie is cutting a tooth too. She has been a little crabby and chewing on her fists, burp clothes, and toys like crazy when you stick them up to her mouth. I can also feel a little rough patch and a small bump when I rub my finger along her bottom gum and Jessie will also try to bite down on my finger when I do it.

I hope she isn't like her big sister and gets an ear infection with every tooth that comes in and I hope the tooth doesn't take too long to come in. I feel bad when she doesn't feel well and there isn't much I can do other than give her tylenol.

OUR NEIGHBOR IS SO COOL

The same neighbor who put our name on the contractors list that was going to dig our water trench for us last year called us up over the weekend and offered us their swing set. Their two kids are older and in grade school and don't use it anymore and said that we could have it for nothing for our two kids.

I told our neighbor that we would absolutely take it if they didn't want it anymore. The swing set must be at least 12 feet long and there is a teeter totter, airplane swing, slide, two normal swings, a gym bar, and they also threw in their plastic baby swing too. Because of the size of the swing set we would need a trailer to move it and Darren isn't going to be home until late Saturday so we would have to move it on Sunday.

I have spent the last two nights at my mom's with the girls since my dad is away working at the Shrine Circus in Minot and I went home today to check on the animals and pick up the mail and I was surprised to see that the neighbors brought the swing set over to our house and put it up in our front yard for us. That was super nice of them!

I can't wait to see Cassie's reaction when she sees it. We didn't tell her that we were getting one and she doesn't know that it's there. I bet I won't be able to get her inside.

Thank God the neighbors put it up in front of the door to the house, this way I can at least keep an eye on her while she plays on it.

A POST FOR TIGRE

My newly discovered friend, Tigre, whom I have gotten to know a little through the Our World blog posted recently about immigrants in America. Tigre, a LEGAL immigrant, works hard and goes through all the steps, paperwork, tests, ect...to be a legal immigrant not because it's fun but because that's what is needed to be done no matter how much of a pain in the ass it is. It's a good post and people need to check it out.

I agree with Tigre. I do not have a problem at all with immigrants in America as long as they are legal and take all the steps to become such. I don't believe that those who come over and stay illegally have the right to protest and complain how American's act towards them...they are, after all, illegal and if they went through the grueling process to become legal things may be different.

Just recently I read a letter that was sent to my mom and dad about an American working in Mexico and I thought I would pass it along for all of you to read.

American working in Mexico
From the other side of the fence.....

From Tom O'Malley, former Director with South West BELL in Mexico City

I spent five years working in Mexico.

I worked under a tourist visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval.

During that six months our Mexican and US attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except her's did not permit her to work.

To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and I.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from the St. Louis Chief of Police indicating I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on Earth" letter. It was fun to write.

All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.

Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours accompanied by a Mexican attorney touring Mexican government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location and we remember at least four locations we instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face the consequences.

We could not protest any of the government's actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US customs in Laredo, Texas. This meant we had rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.

We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.

We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the Licensing agency to come to our headquarters location with their photographer and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was to never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom to get it back.

We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The company's Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. It was about twenty legal size pages annually.

The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.

Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets or liens) before our household goods were released to customs.

It was a real adventure, and If any of our Senators or Congressman went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.

The Mexican government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White House or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress, and during most protests the Mexican military surround the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy.

These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.

Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being hard on illegal immigrants.

Tom O'Malley

I know that this blog is going to be criticized and scrutinized by those that read it and I will probably get a lot of comments, some I am not going to agree with, but this is just how I feel about illegal immigrants in America.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

BAPTISM, SHOPPING, AND PLAY

My mom, grandma, Jessie, and I attended the baptism of my very little cousin on Saturday and while we were gone Darren and Cassie went up to Willow City to see Grandma Hanson and Grandpa Dave. My uncle's son is getting very big. He is three times the size of Jessie and he's very strong and is already rolling over. While we were there, we ran into Grand Forks to get some shopping done and see Kevin and April. However, we started to run late and my dad called and needed some stuff from Home of Economy and then we needed to get my Grandma back in time for supper so unfortunately I had to call April and tell her that we wouldn't be making it over. I was VERY disappointed because I wanted to see them so bad. Oh well, maybe next time.

I did a little shopping for the girls while we were in Grand Forks. I like the children's clothes at JC Penny's and they were having a sale so I bought two outfits for each of them and then I bought Jessie this really cool horse by Lamaze. I will have to take pics of the kids sporting their new outfits when it gets warmer out. I want to go back and get some more clothes for them when we have the money to get them some summer clothes. Cassie needs t-shirts bad and I was hoping to reuse some of Cassie's clothes with Jessie but I am only able to use a few outfits since Cassie was born in the fall and Jessie in the summer.....I am running into "different seasons" and "different sizes" problems.

Yesterday was pretty cold and rainy. Cassie had EHS and after all their activities were done they went outside to play and blow bubbles. The bubbles where huge in the humid wet rain. I must say that when it's raining outside, that is the perfect time to go out and blow bubbles. The bubbles were bigger than Cassie's head. She had a lot of fun with the bubbles and now that's all she wants to do.

We spent the night at my mom's house. Jessie didn't do too bad but she could have been better. She didn't settle down until 12:30 then she was up again at 1:30 and she finally fell asleep around 3 and slept until 8 this morning. I think if we were home and had the swing she would have fallen asleep faster. She likes movement and that helps settle her down. If I don't have a swing or a rocking chair when I am with her we are in trouble.

My mom and I are planning a trip with the girls to go visit my sister and stay with her for about a week. There is this big indoor park for children not far from where my sister goes to church where people take their kids all the time and they even sell ice cream there so we may check that out. My mom said that she would pay for a ticket so that Cassie and my sister can ride some rides in Camp Snoopy in MOA since we didn't get to do that last time we were there. Then there is also this museum for kids that we are going to check out. I also want to get my hair done at this fancy place my sister goes to called The Chair. My mom has had her hair done there and she said that the guys that run the place are great....mom said that if they do children's hair she would pay for Cassie to get her hair cut since I have been thinking about cutting it short for summer.

Monday, May 01, 2006


This is Jessie with her first horse. I bought this horse at JC Penny's when we were in Grand Forks over the weekend. Jessie really like's it and she tries to reach out and grab it and plays with it a lot when I have it clipped to her car seat. Posted by Picasa

Jessie checking out her cool little horsey. Posted by Picasa

A view from the bouncy chair. And check out the cool slippers frpm Aunty Missy. Posted by Picasa

Jessie just chillin' on the floor. Posted by Picasa

There was some extra time at our EHS visit so Rae Ann, Cassie's EHS lady, took Cassie outside and they made bubbles...check out the size of those hug bubbles! Posted by Picasa

Cassie making bubbles with Rae Ann outside in the rain. Posted by Picasa

I had to post this picture of uncle Bill and his son Micheal William. I liked how the sun through the back windows gave the picture an "old fashioned" feel. Posted by Picasa

Cassie giving lots of love to the bunny that great grandma Rose gave her for Easter. Posted by Picasa
 


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